Amazon.com Review
It is always night in the city of Ember. But there is no moon, no stars. The only light during the regular twelve hours of "day" comes from floodlamps that cast a yellowish glow over the streets of the city. Beyond are the pitch-black Unknown Regions, which no one has ever explored because an understanding of fire and electricity has been lost, and with it the idea of a Moveable Light. "Besides," they tell each other, "there is nowhere but here" Among the many other things the people of Ember have forgotten is their past and a direction for their future. For 250 years they have lived pleasantly, because there has been plenty of everything in the vast storerooms. But now there are more and more empty shelves--and more and more times when the lights flicker and go out, leaving them in terrifying blackness for long minutes. What will happen when the generator finally fails?
Twelve-year-old Doon Harrow and Lina Mayfleet seem to be the only people who are worried. They have just been assigned their life jobs--Lina as a messenger, which leads her to knowledge of some unsettling secrets, and Doon as a Pipeworker, repairing the plumbing in the tunnels under the city where a river roars through the darkness. But when Lina finds a very old paper with enigmatic "Instructions for Egress," they use the advantages of their jobs to begin to puzzle out the frightening and dangerous way to the city of light of which Lina has dreamed. As they set out on their mission, the haunting setting and breathless action of this stunning first novel will have teens clamoring for a sequel. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7–This truly superb audio recording of the novel by Jeane DuPrau (Random, 2003) takes place in the dark city of Ember, a decaying place with no natural light surrounded by the vast Unknown. Although ancestors had arranged for information on leaving Ember to be made available after the inhabitants have spent 200 years there, a corrupt mayor lost the information many years before the novel begins. Two hundred and forty-one years later, Ember's electrical lighting frequently fails, supplies are dwindling, and the populace is growing increasingly frightened. Twelve-year-old Doon and his acquaintance Lina are intent on finding a way to save Ember. After Lina finds a mysterious and fragmented paper titled "Instructions for Egress," they think they have a way out. Can they escape from the villainous mayor and his soldiers? Can they figure out the missing letters and words in the message? Do they find their way out of Ember and up to a post-apocalyptic Earth? Wendy Dillon, one of the most talented readers of audiobooks, does an amazing job of creating different voices for each character, has absolutely perfect diction, and skillfully conveys the building suspense. Exceptional care has been taken to faithfully convey the author's excellent tale through a combination of a superior narrator and evocative sound effects. This engaging novel is an exceptional audiobook.–B.Allison Gray, John Jermain Memorial Library, Sag Harbor, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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我必须承认,这本书在情感刻画上的细腻程度,完全超出了我对一部以“废墟生存”为主题的小说的预期。它并非一味地渲染绝望,而是巧妙地穿插了那些微小却坚韧的人类联结。比如,那些关于“旧日世界”的模糊记忆碎片,它们是如何成为支撑某些角色度过漫长黑夜的精神食粮的;再比如,父辈与子辈之间那种带着复杂歉疚和深深爱意的沟通方式。这些情感的交织,让原本冰冷的技术设定和环境描写有了温度。我读到某些段落时,甚至会停下来,深思片刻,思考在那样一个资源极度匮乏、信息完全受控的环境下,人性的光辉如何还能穿透重重的黑暗。作者的笔触是克制的,她很少用煽情的语言去堆砌情绪,而是通过行动和眼神,将那种深埋于心的渴望和恐惧细腻地展现出来。这种高明的叙事技巧,使得故事的张力始终保持在一个非常高的水平线上,让你在紧张之余,又忍不住为角色的每一次微小胜利而感到由衷的高兴。
评分我特别欣赏作者在构建角色心理防御机制方面的功力。在这样一个高度依赖集体规范和服从性的社会里,个体的“异见”是如何萌芽并成长的?故事并没有把主角塑造成一个天生的反抗者,相反,他/她的觉醒是渐进的、充满自我怀疑的,这使得人物形象异常真实可信。每一次对现有规则的质疑,都伴随着巨大的心理负担——害怕被排斥,害怕打破了仅存的秩序。这种对“顺从的代价”的深入探讨,触及了群体行为学的核心。此外,书中对“历史的篡改”与“记忆的重构”的处理方式,也令人印象深刻。信息的不对称性如何塑造了一个时代的集体心智,角色们如何通过碎片化的线索,逆向工程出被隐藏的真相,这个过程的推理和解谜元素设计得非常精妙,如同在黑暗中摸索着拼凑一张复杂的古地图。
评分这本书的语言风格是那种罕见的、既冷峻又富有诗意的混合体。它在描述那些冰冷、功能性的机器和建筑结构时,用词精准、毫不含糊,带着一种工程师般的冷静;但当涉及到角色内心世界的波动,或是对外界世界(哪怕是虚假的外部世界)的想象时,文字又会突然变得流畅、充满画面感,仿佛一下子穿透了那层机械的外壳,看到了下面流淌的生命力。这种风格的快速切换,成功地模拟了在极端压力下,人们思维在务实生存和浪漫幻想之间来回摆动的状态。阅读体验是极其流动的,你几乎感觉不到情节的转折点,一切都像是水到渠成,但事后回味,却发现每一次叙事选择都经过了精心的布局。它提供了一种非常独特的沉浸感,让你在享受紧张故事的同时,也被其背后那份成熟、沉稳的文学表达所吸引。
评分从文学性的角度来看,本书的象征意义极其丰富,远非简单的冒险故事可以概括。那份悬挂在头顶、定时闪烁的照明系统,与其说是一个技术装置,不如说是对“真理”和“希望”的具象化。它象征着被精心维护的谎言,以及被严格控制的认知边界。每当灯光开始衰减,那种集体性的焦虑和对现状的不安,便会像瘟疫一样蔓延开来。而主角们寻找“出口”的过程,本质上是一场对“被赋予的现实”的反叛,是对探寻原始真相的执着。作者高明地运用了“光明与黑暗”这一亘古的主题,但赋予了它全新的、机械的、社会学的解读。读完后,我常常会反思我们自身所处的社会环境,我们所依赖的“稳定”是否也建立在某些我们不愿深究的“基础”之上?这种引人深思的哲学维度,使得这本书的价值超越了类型小说的范畴,具备了更持久的讨论空间。
评分这部作品的叙事节奏简直像一场精密的机械钟摆,滴答作响,却又充满了令人窒息的紧迫感。作者对于环境细节的描摹,简直达到了令人发指的地步。你可以清晰地“闻到”空气中弥漫的那种陈旧、带着金属锈蚀和潮湿泥土混合的味道,仿佛那层厚厚的、常年不见天日的“上层”的灰尘正扑面而来。角色们的挣扎不再是抽象的口号,而是具体到每一次呼吸、每一次脚步的沉重。特别是主角在探索那些被遗忘的管道和隧道时,那种幽闭恐惧和对未知的敬畏感,被刻画得入木三分。我尤其欣赏作者在构建这个封闭世界时的逻辑严密性,每一个制度、每一个习俗,似乎都与他们生存的客观条件紧密相关,没有丝毫多余的赘述。这种基于环境的社会结构设计,使得故事的合理性大大增强,让读者在阅读过程中,几乎能感受到自己也置身于那摇摇欲坠的灯光之下,心悬一线。这种将环境、人物与命运深度绑定的叙事手法,是当代科幻小说中难得一见的佳作,它不仅仅是讲述一个逃离的故事,更是在探讨人类在极端压力下,如何保持希望与理性之间的微妙平衡。
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